Douglas James Loft (born 25 December 1986) is an English professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who plays as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

for club

Tonbridge Angels Tonbridge Angels Football Club is a professional football club based in Tonbridge, Kent, England. The club was founded as Tonbridge Football Club in 1947 and became known as "The Angels" in 1949 when they started playing at the Angel Ground. S ...

. A

non-League Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is s ...

player at Hastings United, Loft moved to

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

club Brighton & Hove Albion in January 2006. He remained on the fringes of the first-team throughout his stay and was

loan In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that ...

ed out to

Dagenham & Redbridge Dagenham & Redbridge Football Club is a professional association football club based in Dagenham, Greater London, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Often known simply as Dag ...

in February 2009. He signed with Port Vale in June 2009, where he found regular first-team football. Voted as the club's Player of the Year in 2012, Loft helped the club secure

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

to League One the following season. He signed for Gillingham in June 2014, before moving to

Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its earl ...

in July 2016. He signed with Shrewsbury Town in July 2018 and in January 2019 rejoined Dagenham & Redbridge on loan. He signed with non-League side Billericay Town in July 2019 and moved to Tonbridge Angels in June 2021.

Career

Brighton & Hove Albion

Born in

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 miles (51 km) east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the c ...

, former England Schoolboy international Loft was signed by Brighton & Hove Albion from

side Hastings United in January 2006. He made his professional debut for Mark McGhee's side as a 90th-minute substitute in Brighton's 0–0 draw with

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syst ...

on 11 March 2006. In only his third game, Loft scored his first goal, a consolation in Brighton's 5–1 home defeat by

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which competes in the . Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, it changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and then to Stoke City in 1925 after Sto ...

on 30 April 2006. Loft made 13 league and cup appearances for Brighton during his first full season with the club, scoring one goal. He agreed a new one-year deal at the end of the 2006–07 campaign. He made 17 appearances in all competitions during the 2007–08 season, scoring one goal in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competit ...

. He was awarded a new one-year

contract A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to ...

in June 2008. In the 2008–09 season, Loft had made nine appearances for Brighton before joining

League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Le ...

side

in February 2009 on

until the end of the season. After impressing in his loan spell, and after making ten appearances for the Daggers, Brighton

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

Russell Slade recalled Loft. He returned to Brighton to make seven further appearances before the end of the campaign.

Port Vale

In May 2009, Loft was one of 14 players that left Brighton following the expiry of their contracts. He signed for Port Vale on a two-year contract in June 2009, teaming up with former Brighton manager

Micky Adams Michael Richard Adams (born 8 November 1961) is an English former professional association football, footballer and football manager. As a player, he was a Full-back (football), full back, and made a total of 438 league appearances in a ninete ...

. He missed the opening two weeks of the 2009–10 pre-season with illness, though started to find his best form after settling in to the side. He was transfer listed in late September, along with the entire Port Vale squad, after Adams saw his team slip to a third consecutive defeat. After

calf Calf most often refers to: * Calf (animal), the young of domestic cattle. * Calf (leg), in humans (and other primates), the back portion of the lower leg Calf or calves may also refer to: Biology and animal byproducts *Veal, meat from calves ...

and heel injuries kept Loft out of contention, he returned to the first-team with a "rasping half-

volley Volley or Volly may refer to: People * Volly De Faut (1904–1973), American jazz reed player * Paul Volley (born 1971), English rugby union player Sports * Volley (association football), an air-borne strike in association football *In some rack ...

" in a 2–2 home draw with

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...

on 23 November. He ended the season with three goals and 37 appearances in all competitions. At the beginning of the

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

season, Loft was out of the first-team with suspected bruised

ribs The rib cage, as an enclosure that comprises the ribs, vertebral column and sternum in the thorax of most vertebrates, protects vital organs such as the heart, lungs and great vessels. The sternum, together known as the thoracic cage, is a semi ...

. His ribs eventually transpired to be broken, and he had also suffered a collapsed lung, keeping him out of action for three weeks. Despite a

tore Tore is a Scandinavian masculine name. It is derived from the Old Norse name ''Thórir'', which is composed of ''thorr'' which means thunder, and ''arr'' which means warrior. So Thunder Warrior or Thor's Warrior. The most famous person by this na ...

and a

hamstring In human anatomy, a hamstring () is any one of the three posterior thigh muscles in between the hip and the knee (from medial to lateral: semimembranosus, semitendinosus and biceps femoris). The hamstrings are susceptible to injury. In quadrup ...

injury keeping him out of action for portions of the second half of the campaign, Loft was awarded a new two-year deal in May 2011. Loft began the 2011–12 season with four goals in six games which earned him a nomination for League Two Player of the Month for August, which he missed out on to

Mark Arber Mark Andrew Arber (born 9 October 1977) is an English former professional footballer who played as a centre-back or left-back. He began his career in 1996 with Tottenham Hotspur, and retired in 2014 after a short stay at Corby Town. Following hi ...

. After a successful campaign which returned five goals in 46 appearances, Loft was voted as the club's Player of the Year, while also picking up the Away Travel Player of the Year and Players' Player of the Season awards. Loft was appointed club

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in July 2012 following the departure of Marc Richards. He scored his only goal of the season with a drive in Vale's 2–1 defeat to Oxford United at the

Kassam Stadium The Kassam Stadium (also known as Grenoble Road) is the home of Oxford United Football Club, and is named after the ground's owner and former chairman of the football club, Firoz Kassam. The Kassam Stadium currently hosts League One (third t ...

on 2 March 2013. Three days later, he received a

red card A red card is a type of penalty card that is shown in many sports after a rules infraction. Red card may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''Red Card'' (album), 1976 release by Streetwalkers * Red card, suit (cards) of hearts or dia ...

for violent conduct in a goalless home draw with Bradford City. Loft featured for Vale 36 times, as the club went on to achieve

to League One with a third-place finish. He signed a new one-year contract in the summer. During the 2013–14 season, Loft had been a regular fixture in the first-team, scoring nine goals in 43 league and cup appearances, until April 2014, when an alleged training ground altercation between Loft and teammate Daniel Jones left Loft out of action for the remainder of the season. Manager Micky Adams stressed that Loft was the innocent party in the confrontation that left Loft with a broken cheekbone and Jones was sacked following a club investigation. He was voted onto Port Vale's team of the 2010s by readers of '' The Sentinel'', alongside Anthony Griffith, in February 2020.

Gillingham

In June 2014, Loft turned down a new deal to remain with Port Vale, instead choosing to sign for Gillingham on a free transfer. He chose to sign for Gillingham in order to return to his home county of Kent with his young family. He was made club captain, and made his club debut on 9 August 2014 in a 4–2 defeat to Milton Keynes Dons. He was sent off in a 3–0 League One defeat to

Scunthorpe United Scunthorpe United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, England. The side currently competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The tea ...

in October 2014, before scoring his first goal for the club in a

Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Leag ...

win over

Crawley Town Crawley Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crawley, West Sussex, England. The club was founded as Crawley Football Club in 1896, changed its name to Crawley Town Football Club in 1958. The team com ...

on 11 November. He ended the season with two goals in 42 appearances. Loft spent much of the 2015–16 season plagued by injury, missing much of pre-season and the early stages, and suffering an

Achilles In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus ( grc-gre, Ἀχιλλεύς) was a hero of the Trojan War, the greatest of all the Greek warriors, and the central character of Homer's '' Iliad''. He was the son of the Nereid Thetis and Pe ...

injury which restricted his number of games to just four between mid-February and May 2016. He scored four goals in 28 games, and was released by the club at the end of the season.

Colchester United

In July 2016, Loft signed a two-year contract with League Two side

. He made his debut for the club in the

EFL Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by th ...

during Colchester's 4–0 defeat by Brighton & Hove Albion. His problematic

and Achilles injuries recurred in late August 2016, keeping him out of first-team action. It was reported on 9 September that Loft would remain out of action for two to three months. He finally made a return to competitive action as a late substitute in Colchester's 1–1 draw with

Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team compete in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club play their home games at T ...

on 14 April 2017, completing the season with nine first-team appearances to his name. He was struck down by a

shoulder The human shoulder is made up of three bones: the clavicle (collarbone), the scapula (shoulder blade), and the humerus (upper arm bone) as well as associated muscles, ligaments and tendons. The articulations between the bones of the shoulder m ...

injury after a bad fall in November 2017. He was released by Colchester at the end of the 2017–18 season after manager John McGreal admitted that "we only ever saw glimpses of him because of his injury problems and it just hasn't worked out for him here".

Shrewsbury Town

On 21 July 2018, Loft signed a one-year deal with Shrewsbury Town after impressing manager

John Askey John Colin Askey (born 4 November 1964) is an English professional football manager and former player who was most recently the manager of club York City. He is the son of former Port Vale player Colin Askey. Able to play as a winger or as ...

on a trial basis in pre-season

friendlies An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

. However, he failed to break into the "Shrews" first-team, playing just 66 minutes of League One football at the

New Meadow New Meadow, also known as Montgomery Waters Meadow for sponsorship purposes, is a stadium situated on the southern outskirts of Shrewsbury, Shropshire, between the districts of Meole Brace and Sutton Farm, and close to the A5. It serves the hom ...

. He appeared more frequently in the

EFL Trophy The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL ...

and scored his only goal for the club in that competition against

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands County, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east of Wolverhampton and from Lichfield. Walsall is t ...

. On 21 January 2019, he returned to Dagenham & Redbridge, who were now playing in the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

, on loan until the end of the 2018–19 season. Manager Peter Taylor said that "he is a very experienced midfield player that I felt we needed". He was released by Shrewsbury manager Sam Ricketts in May 2019.

Later career

On 17 July 2019, Loft joined

National League South The National League South, formerly Conference South, is one of the second divisions of the National League in England, immediately below the top division National League. Along with National League North, it is in the second level of the N ...

club Billericay Town. He scored two goals in 24 appearances in the 2019–20 season, which was permanently suspended on 26 March due to the

COVID-19 pandemic in England The COVID-19 pandemic was first confirmed to have spread to England with two cases among Chinese nationals staying in a hotel in York on 31 January 2020. The two main public bodies responsible for health in England are NHS England and Public ...

, with Billericay in 18th-place. He played eight games in the

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

season, which was also curtailed early due to the pandemic. On 3 June 2021, Loft joined

Isthmian League The Isthmian League () is a regional men's football league covering Greater London, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, the league now consists of 82 tea ...

Premier Division club

Margate Margate is a seaside town on the north coast of Kent in south-east England. The town is estimated to be 1.5 miles long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay and Westbrook. The town has been a significant m ...

; manager Jay Saunders described him as a "key signing". However, eight days later he was revealed as a

signing after he walked out on Margate to remain in the National League South with Tonbridge. He played 27 games in the 2021–22 season and was retained in the summer. However, he played just one game of the

2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

campaign before suffering a season-ending ruptured Achilles injury at the end of August.

Style of play

Loft is a versatile midfield player, and in November 2010 was described by Port Vale teammate Gareth Owen as "...one of the fittest at the club but he's got a lot of skill with it... I've been surprised by how strong he is. He's got a good footballing brain and I like having him outside me (at wing-back) because he always wants the ball and I know he'll do his defensive duties as well. He can play in other positions, and received praise for his performances at left-back and his "excellent attitude" from Port Vale manager Micky Adams.

Personal life

Growing up in

, as a boy, Loft attended Gillingham matches with his father. His wife, Laura, gave birth to their first child, a daughter, in 2011.

Career statistics

Honours

Individual *2012 Port Vale Player of the Year Port Vale *

Football League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Le ...

third-place promotion:

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Loft, Doug 1986 births Living people Footballers from Maidstone English men's footballers Men's association football fullbacks Men's association football midfielders Hastings United F.C. players Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players Dagenham & Redbridge F.C. players Port Vale F.C. players Gillingham F.C. players Colchester United F.C. players Shrewsbury Town F.C. players Billericay Town F.C. players Margate F.C. players Tonbridge Angels F.C. players English Football League players Isthmian League players National League (English football) players